Decorative trim for window shades

ABSTRACT

A TANSPARENT PLASTIC FILM OR SHEET CARRYING AN ORNAMENTAL DESIGN ON THE OBVERSE SIDE, A PRESSURE SENSITIVE ADHESIVE ALONG THE LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING EDGES OF THE OBVERSE SIDE AND AN ORNAMENTAL DESIGN ON THE REVERSE SIDE TO MASK THE ADHESIVE FROM VIEW, IS USED AS DECORATIVE TRIM WHEN ATTACHED TO THE BOTTOM OF A WINDOW SHADE. WHEN ATTACHED TO THE WINDOW SHADE, THE OBVERSE SIDE OF THE PLASTIC FILM OR SHEET FACES THE WINDOW SHADE AND IS PROTECTED FROM DAMAGE.

June l, 1971 s. Gui-'FAN DECORATIVE TRIM FOR WINDOW SHADES Filed May 2o. 1970 INVENTOR.

h b-i ATTORNEYS United States Patent Patented June 1,' 1971 3,582,441 DECORATIVE TRIM FOR WINDOW SHADES Samuel Gulfan, 1488 Ocean Parkway, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11230 Filed May 20, 1970, Ser. No. 38,933 Int. Cl. B32b `i/04, 7/06 U.S. Cl. 161-39 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates to decorative trim for window shades.

The conventional window shade which compr1ses a sheet attached to a spring-loaded roller is a highly ut 1l1 tarian means for controlling the amount of light entering a window, and a primary advantage of window shades over other light controlling means is their relatively low cost. Unfortunately, window shades tend to be excessively austere and generally esthetically unattractive.

Because of this a variety of textured and/or colored sheets are employed in the production of window shades to avoid the drab, unattractive appearance of the customary window shades. In addition, elaborate ltrimmings are available for attachment to the bottom of the shade. Such decorative shades employing these more attractive materials and/ or trimmings are quite expensive due in part -to the cost of the materials and perhaps in major part due to the labor necessary to make these shades. As a result` these decorative window shades are generally out of the reach of vast numbers of consumers due to their high cost.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a decorative trim for a window shade that will markedly enhance the appearance of the window shade.

It is another object of the invention to provide a decorative trim that is in itself of moderate cost and which can be applied to the window shade by the consumer, thereby providing an inexpensive means for decorating a window shade.

The present invention is illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a plan view of the decorative trim of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a Window shade having the decorative trim attached thereto;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fractional sectional view on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fractional sectional view of an alternative embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fractional plan view of a window shade showing the use of a fastening means to secure the trim to the shade; and

FIG. `6 is an enlarged fractional sectional view on the line 6-6 of FIG. 5.

`Referring to FIG. 1, the decorative trim of the invention comprises a transparent plastic film or sheet 1 having a fold line 2 extending throughout the length of the film or sheet 1 and enabling the sheet to be folded on itself into two longitudinally extending panels. Printed on film or sheet 1 is a decorative design 3 and 3', which can be applied to the film or sheet 1 by any suitable means, such as printing or silk screening and the like. Two holes 5 are provided at the center of film or sheet 1 on either side of fold line 2 to enable attachment of a shade pull 9 (FIG. 2).

Immediately adjacent the longitudinal edges of the film or sheet 1 is a narrow band of pressure-sensitive adhesive 6 which is protected by paper backing 4 and 4', the paper 4 and 4' being readily peelable from the adhesive 6. A corner of the film or sheet 1 has been turned back in FIG. 1 to show design 3a applied to the reverse side of the' film or sheet 1. IDesign 3a is coextensive with the area to which adhesive 6 is applied to the film'or sheet 1 so that the adhesive 6 is not visible through the transparent film or sheet 1 after the film or sheet 1 has been applied to the window shade.

FIG. 2 shows the decorative trim applied to a window shade 8 which is attached to a conventional spring-'loaded roller 7. As can be seen most clearly from FIG. 3, the reverse side of the decorative trim faces outwardly, with the ornamental design 3 and 3 thereby being protected by the roller 7. In the absence of such open ends thetrappedA the film or sheet 1 from damage. It is a highly unusual feature of the present invention that the reverse side or left side of a printed sheet is faced outwardly, and the decoration itself faces inwardly.

FIG. 4 illustrates a preferred embodiment of the invention wherein a fabric insert 10 is slid into place in the space formedfby the Window shade I8 and film or sheet 1. If desired, two such fabric inserts can be used so that the fabric is visible through Vthe transparent film or sheet 1. from both sides of the window shade. The fabric insert 10 is chosen to coordinate or contrast with the-ornamental design 3, 3 and 3a and can be removed or replaced by a different colored insert to suit the fancy of the user of the window shade. This can be accomplished because the ends of the sheet adjacent the edges of window shade 8 are kept open. The open ends of thev film or sheet 1 also serve the desirable purpose of allowing air to escape from the spaces between window shade 8 and film or sheet 1 whenV the window shade is accidentally caused to WindV up rapidly on air placed under pressure by the rapidly moving roller could cause damage to the window shade, particularly if the window shade is mounted close to the top of a Window.

While it is contemplated that the adhesive 6 will be suliicient securely to adhere the decorative trim to the window shade, in some cases it may be desired to place one or more decorative snap fasteners 11 (FIGS. 5 and 6) through the film or sheet 1 and the window shade 8. The snap fastener is chosen so that both sides of the fastener conform with the overall esthetic appeal of the decorative trim. If several fasteners are used, they Itend to prevent the accidental winding of the decorative trim on the roller. In lieu of the snap fasteners 11, other fasteners (not shown) can be used, such as a fastener having a flat circular portion from which extends a circular shaft adapted to receive a smaller annular disk, the ends of the shaft being adapted to be spread so as to secure the annular disk to the fastener. i It is contemplated that the decorative trim will be sold 1n the form shown in FIG. 1. The purchaser can readily attach this ltrim to :a window shade quickly, efficiently and accurately merely by folding the film or sheet 1 along the fold line 2, positioning the bottom of the window shade l8 immediately adjacent the fold line 2, removing paper backing 4 and 4', and impressing adhesive l6 against window shade 8. If a shade pull, such as shade pull 9, 1s desired, it can be secured to the window shade by maklng a hole in the window shade through holes 5 and attaching the shade pull to the window shade in the conventional manner.

The film or sheet 1 is made from any desired transparentplastic film or sheet having sufiicient rigidity so that it will not wrinkle when applied to the window shade. Suitable transparent plastic lms or sheets can be made from vinyl plastics,'such as polyvinylchloride or vinylchl-oride-vinylidene chloride copolymers, polyes-ters, such as the polymer formed by condsensing ethylene glycol and dimethyl terephthalate (Mylar), cellulose acetate, cellulose Iacetate butyrate, cellulose triacetate, and cellulose propionate, etc. All that is required of the plastic is that it be transparent, of a sufiicient gage to avoid wrinkling when attached to the window shade and suiiiciently flexible to avoid breaking or tearing during printing of the design and subsequent handling and use. It has been found that a particularly suitable material is a 6-gage transparent polyvinylchloride film, but other transparent plastic films can be used as well.

It can thus be seen that the objetcs of the present invention are fully accomplished by the decorative trim described herewith. The decorative trim of the present invention is easily applied by the purchaser to the window shade in a quick and accurate manner. The ornamental design is protected from damage by placing it adjacent the window shade so that the outermost surface of the decorative trim acts as a protective shield. By printing the ornamental design on both sides of the fold line, the ornamental design is thus visible on both sides of the window shade, thereby creating a pleasant appearance not only to persons within the room in which the window shade is employed, but also to those who view the window shade from outside the room. Further, printin-g the ornamental design on the wrong side or reverse side achieves an embossed effect on the outermost side of the decorative trim after the trim is applied to the shade.

What is claimed is:

1. A decorative trim for covering the entire Width of the bottom of a window shade comprising a longitudinally extending transparent flexible plastic film having a fold line extending longitudinally of the film dividing the iilm into two longitudinally extending panels, an ornamental design on the obverse side of said fil-m on both sides of said fold line, a narrow band of pressure sensitive adhesive immediately adjacent each of the longitudinally extending edges of said film, said narrow bands of adhesive being coated on the obverse side of the film,

a protective backing removably secured to `said adhesive and completely covering said adhesive, and an ornamental design on the reverse side of said film at least equal in area to the area occupied by said adhesive, whereby the design on the reverse side of the film prevents the adhesve from being visible from said reverse side, said tri-m being adapated to be folded along said fold line around the bottom edge of a window shade in such a manner that said panels are on opposite sides of the window shade with the entire obverse side of said film facing toward said window shade.

2. The decorative trim according to claim 1, wherein the ornamental design on the obverse side of the film is applied in such a manner as to form embossing on the reverse side of the film coextensive -with the ornamental design on the obverse side of the film.

3. The decorative trim according to claim 1 having a pair of holes on opposite sides of the fold line at the central portion of the iihn.

4. A window shade having attached thereto the decorative trim of claim 1, wherein the film is attached to the bottom of the window shade by means of said adhesive in such a manner that the bottom edge of the window shade is adjacent the fold line and the window shade is between two sides of the film.

5. The window shade according to claim 4, having a fabric insert in at least one of the spaces between the window shade and the film.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 372,039 10/1887 Meinberg 16o- 384 1,167,987 1/1916 Ewing 16o-384 1,173,927 2/1916 Burns et al. 16o- 387x 2,102,240 12/1937 Schwartz 160-384 2,396,542 3/1946 Thexton 161-99 2,928,201 3/1960 shanok et al. 161-100X 3,070,280 12/1962 Richmond 229-80 JOHN T. GOOLKASIAN, Primary Examiner I. C. GIL, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 

